Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Previous senryu
- ポイントを 貯めたいばかりに 無駄使い
ポイントを・ためたいばかりに・むだづかい
Just for / reward points… / Such a waste
An unusual 2-3-3!
Sorry for prolonging this one but I wanted to explore the nuance of wasting points vs. wasteful accumulation of stuff to get those points. I’m unsure, but I still think there might be a sort of pun around ポイントを使わない being 無駄使い.
This translation leans toward the other interpretation: the purchases (to get points) were the waste (rather than the saving of points).
Current senryu challenge
Volume: Heartfelt (しみじみ編)
- セールスマン息子に似ていて断れず
I’m having a weird sense of déjà vu with this one. Didn’t we have something similar?
It seems a bit of a grammar test.
Remember to please use the spoiler tag with your translation attempts! Also, please include the reading in kana with your submission.
Everyone is encouraged to participate, no matter your level! Questions and comments are as valued as translation submissions.
Please try not to be disappointed if your translation isn’t selected or if you disagree with the daily choice: the judge isn’t terribly consistent with his grading (and has awful taste!).
Online tools like dictionaries, sentence databases, and even AI translation engines are fair game and can be extremely helpful. Yomichan is particularly handy if you use the Chrome or Firefox browser. The <語源>[ごげん]<由来>[ゆらい]<辞典>[じてん] is also an excellent resource for researching the etymology of various words and expressions.
Here are the links to the 356 Japanese originals (spoiler free) and to the the spreadsheet with all the upcoming senryu as well as the translations to date.